🇦🇱Capitale : Tirana
📏 Superficie total : 28 748 km2
👨👩👦👦 Nombre d'habitants : 3 088 385 habitants
💵 Salaire moyen : 435$ /mois
📈 Indice de développement humaine (IDH) : 0,795 - 69e /189 pays
🥖Prix d’une baguette de pain : 0,55€
💶 Monnaie : Lek (ALL) - 1€ = 117 ALL
Monday, September 5, 2022, we cross the Albanian border!
We did not stay long in Montenegro but we will come back with pleasure to (re)discover this very beautiful country in more depth.
As soon as we entered the country we went to get lost in the mountains. A wonderful day to explore these landscapes! We are charmed.
We had some prejudices about this country, especially about the Albanian mafia. There is nothing. We did not feel any insecurity during our stay in Albania. On the contrary, we crossed paths with smiling and very welcoming locals. A real crush!
Skoder
Founded in the 5th century BC during the Illyrian period, Shkodra is the largest city in northern Albania and above all one of the oldest in this country.
First shock when arriving in this city. On one side a brand new 5-star hotel, on the other a slum inhabited by Roma. The contrast is striking.
People are well dressed, but the streets are filled with trash, children beg on crowded cafe terraces. We had never been faced with so much social diversity.
The next day we went to visit Rosafa Castle. It is known to have withstood the attacks and siege of the Ottoman Empire.
The view of the city is very pretty from the castle and the visit is pleasant. We loved being able to go deep into the bowels and discover one of its secret passages.
Unfortunately, we regret a lack of maintenance of the place. As often in Albania, it is not uncommon to find a large amount of waste on the ground.
In addition, we would have appreciated some explanations on the past of this castle, a pillar of Albanian history.
Krugë
The cost of living being really low in Albania, we allow ourselves to sleep camping more often than usual. Count about 5€ per person for one night instead of 10€ or 15€ in general in neighboring countries.
That evening, we land at Shpetim's. A charming gentleman in his sixties, who welcomes us warmly. The campsite is simple but we feel good there. We are a dozen campers.
In the morning, we chat with an Austrian couple and Shpetim, then our paths separate.
We visit Krugë and its old bazaar. One of the oldest in Albania. The original market dates back over 400 years.
Ottoman style, the market consists of a street that crosses the center and goes up to the castle. A very nice walk among sellers of carpets, jewellery, crockery and other hand-embroidered tablecloths.
> Find this bazaar in video on our Instagram, by clicking HERE
We loved the colors and the authentic atmosphere of this place 🇦🇱
Tirana
In the evening, we arrive in the parking lot of a restaurant where we can spend the night in exchange for dinner in the establishment. What is our surprise when we see the cars of the Austrians, Veronika and Simon, met the same morning and that of a Danish couple, Mett and Ole, also seen at Shpetim's place. We have dinner together that evening. The meal is terribly good! Thanks to the Pusi Sules Restaurant teams and to Marjo for her welcome!
It was a moment full of life and laughter. We love these moments of sharing. 🥰
The next morning, we share a taxi with Veronika and Simon and together visit the bunker (bunk'art) 1 and 2 and the city of Tirana.
Bunker Art 1 and 2 are cultural places located in the capital. These two former military bases were originally developed to secure the state elite of the country against a possible nuclear attack.
We wandered between corridors and secure rooms, some of which served as bedrooms for senior Communist officials.
We should have thought of our little merino because it was no more than 18 degrees there with a very humid ambient area due to the temperature difference with the outside.
Bunker Art n°1 :
Adress : Rruga Fadil Deliu, Tiranë 1001, Albanie
This bunker is the first of the two we visited. It is located in a slightly eccentric district of the center of Tirana.
To get there, we went through a tunnel worthy of the darkest films of the Second World War. We put you in the mood...
Once you have passed the sign "Hyrje" which means "Entry" in Albanian, you slip into a long tunnel of a hundred meters, dark and humid. The earthy floor is lit only by the light of a few feverish neon lights. The width of it, just allows you to pass more than one car and a pedestrian.
We hope that the description has allowed you to put yourself in the situation.
Built between 1972 and 1978, it covers more than 2600 m2, spread over 5 levels.
Now demilitarized, it became a museum in 1993.
Contrary to what one might think, it is not filled with works of art of any shape, but rather we meandered through a maze of corridors and rooms tracing, through photos and texts, the dark modern history of the country. From the 2nd World War, through the Italian occupation of Mussolini, the rise of Fascism, to the communist dictatorship of Enver HOXHA in the 70s.
The latter was so obsessed with new invasions that he had more than 700,000 bunkers built across the country, the many remains of which are still visible everywhere.
To quickly come back to the occupation of Albania, because yes, it took several hundred years to become a sovereign country.
Sometimes a Roman province (II BC – IVth century AD), the Goths and the Huns (Vth century) came there, then very long occupied by the Ottomans (1472 – 1912), it was not until 1913 that Albania is officially declared independent.
Bunker Art n°2 :
Adress : Street Abdi Toptani, Tiranë, Albanie
Attention sensitive souls!
The CSA would classify this bunker "prohibited -18", not that we saw pairs of buttocks but because one can clearly see photos of people hanged in public squares or bodies littering the streets.
As you will have understood, this second Bunk'ART is a little more emotional.
More clearly, it traces the history of the communist police of Enver HOXHA and his methods of bringing order.
This exhibition is dedicated to the victims of communist terror in Albania.
The visit is heavy to digest, but we enjoyed learning this part of Albanian history.
To get from one bunker to another, we had to cross the city, get lost in the streets and take public transport. It was an opportunity to feel the atmosphere that reigns in this city.
Bënjë
We slowly approach the Greek border but make a last stop to bathe in the thermal waters of Bënjë. The waterfall, formed by a deep tectonic cracks, naturally separates into 6 baths, heated by sulphide. Each bath is renowned for these good virtues on rheumatism, headaches or stomach aches...
We spend a lot of time bathing and coating ourselves with the clay from the river, which is also known to be good for the skin. Almost like at the spa .... the smell of rotten eggs in addition due to the sulfur which heats the baths. 🥴
It is already time for us to leave this beautiful country. We loved Albania, its warm and smiling people, its food and its incredible landscapes! It's just a goodbye 🫶 🇦🇱
Comentarios